Ok, in the abstract, yes you have a point - that some of the folks running have something to do with the current problem of illegals. But on the whole, this problem goes back a lot longer than 86 and is a lot bigger than any laws passed or not. It is largely the impact of a supply and demand issue plus an open border. That is far more important than anything any of these guys did or did not do, but you have a technical point.
I am pretty sure that we are the only first world nation bordering a third world nation that does next to nothing to control the flow of illegal immigration. I am also pretty sure that we are the only nation where those calling for enforcement of a lawfull immigration policy are called heartless and inhumane by our political leaders. Newt stepped into the illegal mess early in his campaign and dropped like a rock in the polls, looks like he is stepping back into it and he will AGAIN pay a heavy price for being an advocate of amnesty for illegals and calling those of us who disagree inhumane. I would remind you of the beating Republican President Bush took on this issue, dido the failed candidate McCain.
When the history of the rise and fall of the US is written, historians will point to the 1965 Immigration Act that changed the demographics of this country forever as the single most important factor for our decline.
The 1965 Immigration Act: Anatomy of a Disaster
It is largely the impact of a supply and demand issue plus an open border.
It has to do with an inexhaustible supply of cheap labor, legal and illegal, which drives down wages. There is a reason why salaries have remained stagnant or declined since the 1970s.
The latest data show 22.1 million immigrants holding jobs in the U.S. with an estimated 8 million being illegal aliens. By increasing the supply of labor between 1980 and 2000, immigration reduced the average annual earnings of native-born men by an estimated $1,700 or roughly 4 percent. Among natives without a high school education, who roughly correspond to the poorest tenth of the workforce, the estimated impact was even larger, reducing their wages by 7.4 percent. The reduction in earnings occurs regardless of whether the immigrants are legal or illegal, permanent or temporary. It is the presence of additional workers that reduces wages, not their legal status.
The Bureau of Labor statistics for December 2011 show a national unemployment rate of 8.5 percent, including 15.8 percent for blacks and 11 percent for Hispanics. 22 million Americans are seeking full-time employment. Despite the economic downturn, the U.S. continues to bring in 125,000 new, legal foreign workers a month. This includes new permanent residents (Green Cards) and long-term temporary visas and others who are authorized to take a job. This makes no sense.